The Orthopro OA Knee Brace is an off the shelf product that not only unloads the affective compartment of the knee to relieve pain but also will help to rehabilitate quadriceps that have atrophied as the disease progresses. This ability, to increase quad strength, is accomplished by correcting the abnormal gait of the patient which, when routinely used, will delay the progression of OA.

Clinical studies show a link between OA progression and abnormal OA gait. As OA progresses, the patient incrementally changes the way that they walk to avoid pain in the affected compartment of the knee. This change in gait alters the firing of the quadriceps muscles resulting in reduced quad strength and muscle mass in the affected leg over time. Loss of quad strength reduces the dynamic support of the knee joint, leading to more force on the affected compartment of the knee and a progression of OA.

The Orthopro OA air uploading system provides an adjustable corrective force to allow the patient to move quickly and easily adjust the corrective force necessary to comfortably unload the knee depending on the level of patient activity. The patent pending swing assist mechanism encourages heel to toe gait which is necessary to maintain or improve quad strength.

The unique brace low profile design incrementally corrects gait over time to improve muscle firing sequence memory to assist in normalizing gait. After wearing the brace several months, many patients report increased leg strength, improved gait, and significantly reduced pain when walking without the brace.

Simply unloading the OA knee and providing a corrective force to improve joint space balance can lead the patient to become dependent on the knee brace for pain relief. By correcting gait with hell to toe facilitated gait, increasing the recruitment of the quadriceps muscles, and normalizing muscle firing sequences, the Orthopro OA Knee Brace provides rehabilitative benefits not found with OA unloading knee braces.

For patients that would benefit from delaying the progression of OA, the Orthopro OA knee rehabilitator provides an alternative to injections and imminent total knee replacement surgery to manage OA of the knee.